A Very Odd Man
by fictionette
Summary: First it was the exact twenty-four hour time, then whether he could borrow my apple and then if I could recommend a respectable car dealers, all without an explanation. I don't even know him...what an odd man. Sherlock/OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Whoo! New account! I'm starting afresh (so if upolad any stories that sound familiar it's because you may have read them before on a different account) and what better to start afresh with than Sherlock Holmes, mainly because the TV series rocked and I've always been interested in writing about him one day. So enjoy! Read and review please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Hannah and Vicki.**

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**Chapter 1**

_Ah the joy of the pre-Christmas shopping rush. _Hannah thought dryly, amused with her own attempts at sarcasm.

"You're inner-monologue-ing on me AGAIN Hannah." Her shopping partner Vicki commented wearing a knowing smile, the kind you give someone when you catch them doing something they shouldn't.

Hannah grinned sheepishly. It was indeed a habit of hers to talk to herself inside her own head. She thought it was quite a useful skill. This way she thought things through before doing or saying them, preventing unnecessary embarrassment.

"You're doing it again." Her friend said smugly.

Hannah rolled her eyes and gave her a playful shove. Laughing, the two linked arms and continued to window shop.

Whilst eyeing a pretty silver bracelet in a jewellery shop (_I wonder if Erin would like that…)_, she caught Vicki gazing longingly at a diamond encrusted ring. An engagement ring. Hannah's eyes softened. She placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"It'll happen."

Vicki never took her eyes off the ring. "How do you know?" She whispered. "We've been together four years now."

"Hey now." Hannah turned her friend to face her, purposely blocking her view of the ring. "Kevin loves you. You know that. You love him, right?"

Vicki nodded tearfully.

Hannah laughed. "Then why are you worrying? It took him three years to ask you to move in with him."

Vicki laughed through her tears. "Yeah." She furiously wiped her face on her sleeve. "I feel so pathetic now."

"You're not pathetic." Hannah insisted, drawing her friend into a tight hug. "You're just a lovesick fool."

Pulling away, Vicki mock-glared at her and slipped her arm into the crook of Hannah's, pulling her out of the shop.

Considering how close it actually was to Christmas, there weren't that many people out shopping. _No matter, _Hannah thought. _Make's our trip easier._

Until a man came barrelling past them.

"Watch where you're going!" Vicki yelled after him.

The man paused and, for a moment, Hannah worried that he may have heard. _Of course he heard, idiot! _He turned on his heel and ran back to them. For a moment he glanced between them before settling his eyes on Hannah.

"Do you have…the…exact…twenty-four hour time?" He panted with an almost manic glint in his eye.

Deciding not to question his odd request (_He seems to be in a hurry)_, she quickly glanced at her watch.

"13:21." She relayed.

With a sense of urgency, the man grabbed her shoulders. "You are absolutely certain?"

She nodded. "Yes, it's set to the exact same time as my computer by the second."

The man smiled and she blushed, thinking that he might mock her for her odd little habit. Instead, he gave her a nod of thanks and promptly ran off the same way he'd come from.

She raised an eyebrow at Vicki who shrugged in return.

_What an odd man._

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_Ugh! I hate the rain!_

Hannah wasn't in that good a mood to begin with. First she'd been late for work because she'd missed the bus, then Dot had completely destroyed the cash register causing numerous customer complaints and now, to make matters even worse, it was raining.

A car raced past, splashing water all over her.

"Damn it!" She screamed to the skies. _Someone up there hates me!_

The reason she was out in the rain was because she was on her way to her advanced IT class at the local university. Technology had always fascinated her and she seemed to have a certain affinity for it. It suited her logical and calculating mind.

She ducked under another bus shelter. Wringing her hair out, she sighed in frustration. Deciding that she was quite hungry, she withdrew an apple from her bag. But before she could even take a bite from it a man appeared in front of her. A tall man with dark curly hair and a blue scarf…

"You!" She exclaimed.

The man blinked, looking vaguely surprised to see her again. Then he noticed the apple in her hand.

"May I borrow that?" He inquired.

She gave him an odd look. "I guess…" She replied, tossing him the fruit.

He examined it for a little while, turning it over in his hands. Eventually, he seemed to have found the right spot and promptly sank his teeth into it. He didn't even take a bite from it, just left an impression. He fiddled around with it a little while longer and then passed it back to her with another nod similar to the one he had given first given her.

His eyes flitting across her features, he surveyed her face.

"What is your name?"

She was slightly taken aback by his question and as a result was a bit tongue-tied.

"Uh…Hannah," She spluttered. "Hannah Reynolds."

He nodded once more and sprinted off into the rain, leaving her very confused with an apple she could no longer eat.

_He didn't even tell me his name…very odd._

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_Shit, shit, shit!_

Christmas had come and gone and now Hannah was feeling the consequences of celebrating it with too much alcohol.

Earlier that week, she had applied for another job because she was sick of having to work with such idiots as Dot anymore, even if the pay was good.

So a few days ago, she'd been to the job interview only to discover that the interviewer was a complete bastard who had no intention of ever even considering her for the job. She'd left feeling quite put out.

After having a few (dozen) drinks on Christmas she had somehow been persuaded to send Mr Kent a rather scathing email.

Now she was doing everything she could to make it as if the email had never existed.

_I so shouldn't be doing this._

She was fully aware that she shouldn't be doing what she was, hence why she'd tucked herself into the far corner of the coffee house where no one could see her.

She typed frantically. The sooner she was done the sooner she could leave. She hated that feeling of paranoia, the feeling that everyone was watching you…

"Miss Reynolds."

Hannah jumped in her seat, startled, and immediately slammed her laptop shut. Dark curly hair…

"You again!" She gasped.

He quirked an eyebrow and drew up a chair next to her.

"Yes me." He said, sounding quite irritated. Knitting his hands together, he leaned closer, so close that their noses were almost touching and she could feel his breath on her face. "Now…" An ominous pause. "Could you recommend a respectable car dealers?"

Hannah stumbled on her words, both because of the strange question and their close proximity. "Uh…it depends on how you define respectable."

Another raised eyebrow. "Elaborate."

"Well," She paused for thought. "By respectable do you mean popular and therefore making a respectable amount of money or respectable as in not engaged in any…shady…activities." Then she blushed, realising she'd probably talked too much.

"Preferably both if at all possible." Yet again, irritated with a hint of sarcasm.

She shot him a withering look. "My cousin owns a dealers in the east end. Popular and stand up guy."

The man nodded and made to leave when she grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" She insisted. "You never told me your name."

"Sherlock Holmes" He said simply and with another nod, he left.

Watching him leave, she leaned back in her chair and huffed.

_Sherlock Holmes. A very odd man indeed._


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much guys! Five reviews and over a hundred hits! And to show you how grateful I am, this chapter is slightly longer. Thank you guys! Read and review** please!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Hannah.**

**Chapter 2**

_I love mornings like this._

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the coffee was brewing...weird for a winter morning but she wasn't going to complain. She was wearing her favourite pyjamas, curled up on the sofa, watching TV on one of her first days off in weeks. She had nothing special planned all day and an entire series of _Friends_ was calling her name. Bliss...

_Cuz you're hot then you're cold_

_You're yes then you're no_

_You're in then you're out_

_You're up then you're down_.

"Shut up" She shrieked, diving for her phone on the coffee table. _If this is Dot asking me how to work the bloody computer again I will bloody smash something!_

Message Received

Unknown Number

Her forehead twitched. _Weird. _The actual message was even weirder.

Your assistance is required. 221b Baker Street. Soon as possible if you will Miss Reynolds.

-SH

_SH...do I even know an SH? _Hannah was almost positively sure that she didn't. _It couldn't be Sandy could it? No...she doesn't have my number._ For the time being, Hannah chose to ignore it and made sure to change her phone profile to silent.

She'd forgotten that her phone still vibrated on silent. Frustrated beyond belief (Chandler was about to propose to Monica!), she snatched her phone back.

My patience is wearing thin Miss Reynolds.

-SH

Huffing, she collapsed on her sofa and groaned dramatically. _I don't have anything else to do...if it'll stop whoever it is texting me..._She glanced at her bedroom door and then shook her head. _I can't believe I'm even considering this. _After more thought, she jumped over the sofa to change and left for Baker Street, not giving herself enough time to change her mind.

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The good weather couldn't possibly last. Luckily, Hannah had prepared for it. She pulled her coat closer as she trudged through the biting cold wind and rain. It didn't take her long to find Baker Street as she walked past it on occasion. She found the exact number without too much trouble.

She hesitated as she was about to knock. _Suck it up Hannah! _So she did. For a few anxious moments she waited for someone to open the door. When it did, the person opening it wasn't who she was expecting.

"Hello dear!" Greeted a small elderly woman with a kind smile on her face.

"Um...hello." Hannah said, trying to correct the shocked look on her face. "I'm sorry ma'am, I must have the wrong house." She apologized.

"Miss Reynolds." _Oh you've got to be kidding me..._

"Mr Holmes." She smiled and nodded at the man stood at the top of the stairs.

Then he disappeared out of view. The elderly woman opened the door wider and coaxed her in. Hannah thanked and unwrapped the scarf from around her neck. The elderly woman helped her out of her coat.

"Would you like a cup of tea dear?" She asked, perfectly innocently, as if this happened all the time for her.

Hannah blinked. "I'm fine thank you." She assured her.

The woman nodded and the bustled off, leaving Hannah stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Miss Reynolds!"

Hannah jumped and decided not to keep him waiting any longer, leaping up the stairs three at a time.

She found Sherlock laid out on the sofa, arms folded and knees drawn up to his chest. He didn't even look at her when she walked into the room which gave Hannah enough time to give the place a once over.

The only adequate way she could find to describe the place was organized chaos, really chaotic organised chaos. Their were piles of papers stacked everywhere, lab equipment strewn across the kitchen counters and...was that a hand on the cupboard? Thoroughly creeped out, she sat at the desk, waiting for him to say something.

It seemed like an age they just sat there, glancing at each other every now and again.

Finally, Hannah had enough.

"I'm guessing there's a reason you text me? How'd you get my number by the way?" She said, more than irritated that he had interrupted her one day off.

He merely smirked, reached for the laptop on the floor and held it out. Not a word was said, he just seemed to expect her take it. Hannah scoffed, but she took the laptop all the same and flipped it open and waited for him to say something.

"I want you..." He began, sitting upright on the sofa. "To do something for me."

_Well obviously._

"I want you to hack into a Mr Delrick Albion back accounts." He said, as if he wasn't asking her to anything illegal or out of the ordinary.

Her jaw dropped momentarily before she snapped it back shut and laughed nervously. "Mr Holmes..."

"Sherlock." He cut it in.

"I don't know you well enough to be on first name terms with you." She pointed out aggressively. "And considering what you have just asked of me I doubt we ever will! I don't even know how to hack."

"Lies."

"Excuse me."

"Not only can you hack but you are quite proficient at it."

Hannah laughed. "Oh am I!"

He smirked. "Yes."

"And how do you know that?" She inquired.

"When you gave me your apple I caught a glance at the contents of your bag. A pass for the local university, which is the direction in which you were walking. The only class on at that time was an advanced IT class. Secondly, I noticed that your laptop had several upgrades attached to them and how you had attempted to hide in the corner whilst working on it, glancing nervously around you to see if anyone was watching. This implies that you were doing something you shouldn't be. You, Miss Hannah Reynolds, were hacking."

For a while, there was only stunned silence until one thought crossed Hannah's mind. _Shit._

"How," She whispered. "Could you possibly have figured that out?"

"I do so with quite alarming regularity." He stated.

Silence again as Hannah thought through her plan of action. It didn't seem like he was going to report her to the police, in fact he seemed quite amused with her current state of panic.

She looked up and locked eyes with him. "This doesn't mean that I am going to hack into some random person's bank accounts." She said firmly.

"Not even if I told you that this person has murdered six people?"

Stunned, Hannah inspected his face to see if he was joking. He wasn't.

"Well shouldn't you go to the police then?" She said in a last ditch attempt to get out of the situation she was in.

"They refuse to." He said, laying back on the sofa and staring at the ceiling. "And if you don't help me I'm afraid they may find out about your little illegal pursuits."

Hannah froze. He wouldn't..."That's blackmail."

He did nothing, only continued to inspect the ceiling and smirk.

Hannah huffed. She didn't really have much choice now. Typing furiously, the staccato sound elevating her anger, she did as he instructed.

It was true, she had hacked before and she was rather good at it. Nothing serious, like banks or anything, just email accounts and things like that. She had discovered her little talent after one of her IT classes when someone had posted something on a blog about her that she didn't want made public. She figured that if you knew how a program worked (like what was taught during her IT classes), it would be reasonably easy to bypass the program. She was right.

"There." She said indignantly, turning the laptop to face him. He came to examine the screen and then sat back down.

"Well aren't you going to do something?" She shouted, his inaction infuriating her even more. "There are lives at stake here!"

Still he did nothing, only smirked.

When Hannah realised something. "There was never a murderer was there?"

"No."

"You tricked me."

"How astute of you. Yes I tricked you."

A pause. "Why?"

He stood and led towards the door. "Why does anyone do anything?" He asked, looking down at her enraged face with a slight smile. "Because I was bored." And slammed the door in her face.


End file.
